Justification and Sanctification contrasted

Justification is free (Jn. 4:1)

Sanctification is costly (Lk. 14:25-33)

Justification is instantaneous (Jn. 3:8)

Sanctification is a life-long process (Jn. 8:31)

Justification is by faith (Eph. 2:8)

Sanctification is by faithfulness (1 Cor. 4:2)

Justification is not of works (Eph. 2:9)

Sanctification is of works (Eph. 2:10)

Justification involves Christ’s love for me (Jn. 3:16)

Sanctification involves my love for Christ (1 Jn. 4:19)

Justification concerns Christ’s righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21)

Sanctification concerns my righteousness (Lk. 14:25-33)

Justification involves my position in Christ (Col. 2:11-14)

Sanctification involves my practice (Col. 3:1-11)

Justification considers what God has done (1 Cor. 15:3-4)

Sanctification considers what I am doing (Lk. 14:25-33)

Justification is God’s commitment to me (1 Jn. 5:9-13)

Sanctification is my commitment to God (Jn. 14:15)

Justification requires obedience to one command: to believe the Gospel (Ac. 6:7)

Sanctification requires obedience to all of Christ’s commands (Matt. 28:19-20)

Justification focuses on the cross which Jesus took up once and for all (1 Cor. 1:18)

Sanctification focuses on the cross which I am to take up daily (Lk. 9:53)

Justification is finished at the moment of faith (Jn. 5:24)

Sanctification is not finished until I go to be with the Lord (1 Cor. 9:24-27)

–Source unknown! (HT:  Grace Quotes)

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Never be content. . .

“To grow in your passion for what Jesus has done, increase your understanding of what He has done.

Never be content with your grasp of the gospel. The gospel is
life-permeating, world-altering, universe-changing truth. It has more
facets than any diamond. Its depths man will never exhaust.”

– C.J. Mahaney, The Cross Centered Life (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2002), 67.

(HT:  FI)

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Worth pondering

What are you praying for that only God can do, so that when He does it, He alone will get the glory?

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Do you love the church?

At our church we are studying the distinctives of a Baptist church during our summer Sunday school series. It has been a good study so far on the doctrine of the church even as we have discussed such issues as Biblical authority, regenerate church membership, and church discipline.

What is your view of the church? Do you love the church? I have read this material before but it is being posted again at Pulpit Magazine as a relevant yet timeless reminder of why every Christian should love the church and be involved wholeheartedly in a local church.  Here are the current posts–I think there will be more to come.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

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The blame game

We are great at blameshifting.  We do it all the time!  Why?  Because that is what we have been doing ever since man first sinned.  When the first sin occurred in the Garden of Eden, Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed Satan, which really meant that Adam and Eve both blamed God.  Listen to yourself the next time you get angry or impatient or you lie or you lack joy.  Who do you blame?  What do you blame?

For more on this, read this excellent guest post over at Desiring God.  Do you see yourself in playing the blame game in any of these areas.

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Jesus in China

Tonight at 9pm Eastern, PBS’s Frontline/World will air a documentary (a joint project with the Tribune) on Christianity in China. Looks interesting.

The Chicago Tribune today published its second cover story in a row on “Jesus in China.” Their articles this week hit on many of the recent issues in Chinese Christianity, including the rapid rise in attendance, the compromises of membership in the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (the state church), and the fact that this wave of Christianity is not led by foreign missionaries.

(HT:  In Light of the Gospel)

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A chilling development in the abortion battle

Albert Mohler discusses how planned parenthood is launching a new, aggressive strategy targeting more upper class families.  Mohler writes about this chilling development here.

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The Spirit’s illumination

The Word will not find acceptance in men’s hearts before it is sealed with the inward testimony of the spirit. The same Spirit, therefore, who has spoken through the mouths of the prophets must penetrate into our hearts to persuade us that they faithfully proclaimed what had been divinely commanded…

Even if it wins reverence for itself by its own majesty, it seriously affects us only when it is sealed upon our hearts through the Spirit. Therefore, illumined by his power, we believe neither by our own nor by anyone else’s judgment that Scripture is from God; but above human judgment we affirm with utter certainty…that it has flowed to us from the very mouth of God by ministry of men.–Calvin

Before the committing of the Word to writing, most God-fearers had no other guarantee of the divinity of the doctrines than the fact that blessings flowed to them through the ministry of the few recipients. Once the mind of God had been reduced to writing, each mortal and individual man, to whom the Scriptures may come, has God speaking to them no less directly than if he were hearing God speaking with His own voice to them, exactly as did Adam when he heard the voice of the Lord in the garden. Even the spoken voice cannot reach the ears of men but through a communicating medium, that is, the air in which it is formed; so it cannot be denied that it is the voice of God speaking to men, though it is handed on through the communicating medium of writing. It is in no way diminished by being reduced to writing, having first been revealed to those sorts of chosen men whom we mentioned before, for the divine element remains in the written Word of God as clearly as in those immediate revelations which gave so clear an evidence of their heavenly truth to those to whom they were granted.–John Owen

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The spiritual discipline of silence

In The Still Hour, Austin Phelps wrote, “It has been said that no great work in literature or in science was ever wrought by a man who did not love solitude. We may lay it down as an elemental principle of religion, that no large growth in holiness was ever gained by one who did not take time to be often long alone with God.”

Missionary David Brainerd wrote on April, 28, 1742,

I withdrew to my usual place of retirement in great peace and tranquility; spent about two hours in secret duties and felt much as I did yesterday morning, only weaker and more overcome. I seemed to depend wholly upon my dear Lord, wholly weaned from all other dependences. I know not what to say to my God, but only lean on His bosom, as it were, and breathe out my desires after a perfect conformity to Him in all things. Thirsting desires and insatiable longings possessed my soul after perfect holiness. God was so precious to my soul that the world with all its enjoyments was infinitely vile. I had no more value for all the favor of men than pebbles. The Lord was my ALL; and that He overruled all greatly delighted me. I think my faith and dependence upon God scarce ever rose so high. I saw Him such a fountain of goodness that it seemed impossible I should distrust Him again, or be any way anxious about anything that should happen to me.

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Take in Romans 8!

Take five minutes. Hit the play button. Soak in Romans 8.

(HT: Warnock)

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